


Luck Be On My Side Tonight

by alphayamergo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Cameos from OUATIW cast, F/M, Gremma Appreciation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphayamergo/pseuds/alphayamergo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The obligatory Hogwarts AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Luck Be On My Side Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from 'Mess Is Mine' by Vance Joy.

“Excuse me,” said a tentative voice by the door, and Emma looked up to see a tiny girl with long, dark hair peering in, twisting her hair in her fingers. “Do you mind if I sit in here?”

Emma shook her head. “It’s fine,” she says. “It’s just me in here, anyway.” As the other girl shuffled in, dragging her trunk behind her, Emma took her in. The girl was too small to be anything other than a first year, like Emma, but she had her wand tucked behind her ear like it was no big deal. She must have been raised in the wizarding world, unlike Emma. Although she’d discovered with Professor Snow’s visit and letter that Emma’s own mother had been a witch, Emma had instead been raised in an ordinary orphanage in London.

“I’m Mary Margaret Blanchard,” said the girl as she sat down. “First year.”

“Me, too,” Emma said, before hastening to add, “Emma Swan.”

Mary Margaret blinked at her and asked, “Which house do you think you’ll be in?”

Emma glanced down, considering. She didn’t think she was particularly brave or ambitious, and her grades had never been that great back at her old school. “Um,” she said. “I’m pretty good at finding things?” The words came out more like a question than the statement she’d intended, but Mary Margaret just nodded along.

“I’m hoping to be in Gryffindor,” confessed Mary Margaret. “My mother was in Gryffindor, too.” A shadow passed over her face, and most people probably wouldn’t have picked it up, but Emma was raised in a place with orphans pretty much flowing out the windows.

“I’m sorry,” she said, causing the other girl to glance up sharply. “I, um. I lost my parents when I was a baby,” she added, which is, _wow_ , way too depressing a topic for a first conversation, but it was all she could think of to say and Mary Margaret kind of looked like she needs someone to connect with.

“I’m sorry,” murmured the other girl, and Emma shrugged, looking away.

“It’s fine.”

“I hope we get sorted into the same house,” Mary Margaret said suddenly. “You’re – I trust you.”

-

“ _Hmm,_ ” said the Sorting Hat, almost making Emma jump. “ _What to do with you?”_

‘ _It’d be nice to be with Mary Margaret,_ ’ she thought at the Hat, searching for Mary Margaret at the Gryffindor table.

“ _Loyalty,”_ mused the Hat. “ _That’s really more of a Hufflepuff trait, you know.”_

 _‘I know,’_ she mentally sighed.

“ _You’d do well there. You’ve wanted a family all your life, and they could give you one._ ”

Emma paused her protestations, listening intently.

“ _But you could find that in Gryffindor just as easily, I suppose. Especially that Blanchard girl._ ” The Hat sighed. “ _I suppose there’s only one House for you, then._ GRYFFINDOR!”

There’s scattered applause as she yanked the Hat off her head and ran for the Gryffindor table, sliding gratefully into Mary Margaret’s waiting arms.

-

It was in Fourth Year that things started to get bad.

Oh, there’d always been Blood Purists, but they’d been content to whisper in the privacy of their own common rooms. For Muggleborns and those who passed as them, it had been, at worst, uncomfortable. But in Fourth Year they started growing braver, spitting “ _Mudblood!_ ” and worse.

And so, Mary Margaret and Emma found themselves cornered by a pack of Slytherins on their way back to the Gryffindor Tower. Mary Margaret had been disarmed, and while Emma was one of the best at DADA in their year, she still wasn’t sure she was capable of holding her own against the others. And then –

“Expelliarmus!”

It was a Hufflepuff boy from their year, blond and determined. David Nolan. With the Slytherins distracted, Emma took the opportunity to summon Mary Margaret’s wand and send off a Bat-Boogey hex, Jelly-legs Jinx and Body-bind Curse off in quick succession. With the numbers evened out, quick work was made of the others.

“Aren’t you a real prince charming?” Emma glanced over at Mary Margaret’s sardonic words, seeing the two facing each other.

David only smirked at her words. “I have a name, you know.”

“Don’t care. Charming suits you.”

“If I’m a prince, what does that make you?”

Mary Margaret gaped at him. “Are implying that I am a _damsel in distress_?”

David visibly back peddled. “No, I just mean - ”

Emma rolled her eyes. “We have to get back to the tower. It’s almost curfew.” She looked over to David. “Thank you.”

-

Emma was just about to leave the library when she spotted them.

Ruby and Mary Margaret were both sitting at a table with Graham Humbert from Hufflepuff. Graham had always been a strange Hufflepuff; the only friend he’d ever seemed to have was Ruby, despite their differing houses. Mary Margaret had always worried about him, but all approaches had been met with wary words and suspicious stares. But now, as she watched, Mary Margaret was giggling madly at something Graham had just finished saying, and he had a satisfied smirk on his face.

“That is the _worst joke I have ever heard_ ,” Ruby said emphatically, even as Mary Margaret’s laughter gave her away. “If you ever tell it in my presence again, I _will_ hex you.”

Someone came to stand beside her, and she glanced up to see David next to her. “Hey.”

“Hey,” David replied. “You look worried.” Emma shrugged, but David continued before she could explain. “If it’s about Mary Margaret, you don’t have to be. Worried, I mean. Graham’s nice.”

Emma turned to look at him properly, tilting her head to one side. “I didn’t realise you knew him so well,” she said.

David shrugged. “He doesn’t trust very easily, but once you get passed that, he’s good.” He watched the group at the table. “Ruby and I were the only ones he actually liked at Hogwarts. If Mary Margaret’s on that list now, good for them both.”

Mary Margaret looked up, and seeing Emma, quickly said something to the other two. She swept up her books and hurried to Emma’s side.

“Hey,” she said, a beaming smile still on her face. As she looked at David, it morphed more into a smirk. “Charming.”

“I see you made some progress with Graham,” Emma said before they could start up their ridiculous banter again, nodding to where Graham and Ruby were still talking.

“Yeah.” Mary Margaret pushed a strand behind her ear as she said, “It was a misunderstanding. He’s nice, really. Funny.”

Emma nodded. “I’m glad.”

-

Knees tucked comfortably under her, Emma flicked lazily through her Charms book on one of the many couches in the Gryffindor common room. OWLs were only a few weeks away and she had set aside a few hours each night to revise for it. Mary Margaret, on the other end of the couch, was alternating between writing a Potions essay and watching the portrait hole like a guard dog.

“ _Alice,_ ” said Mary Margaret forcefully, and Emma glanced up to see the fourth-year caught red-handed by the portrait hole. “It’s after curfew.”

“I was just going to the kitchens,” she said innocently. “I missed dinner trying to finish an essay for DADA. Besides, it won’t be like I’m the only Gryffindor out there. _Please,_ Mary Margaret.”

Mary Margaret crossed her arms, looking just like a stern mother. Emma stifled a laugh behind her textbook. “What other Gryffindors are out there?”

“Well, Ruby, for one. I’ve been watching, since I wanted help with Care of Magical Creatures.” Alice shrugged. “She hasn’t been back in for a while.”

“Ruby’s in the hospital wing,” Mary Margaret said sharply, and Emma glanced up in surprise. Her friend had gone tense, and looking over, Alice seemed just as confused as Emma was. With visible effort, she said in a softer voice, “You know how she gets sick occasionally.”

“Look,” said Emma quickly, “I’m pretty sure the Sixth Years are on patrol tonight. Why don’t you ask Belle to grab you something on her rounds?”

Alice nodded slowly, backing away. “Thanks, Emma!”

With the fourth-year gone, Emma turned back to Mary Margaret. “What’s up?”

Mary Margaret shook her head. “It’s nothing.” Emma opened to her mouth to protest, but before she could, Mary Margaret repeated in a firmer voice, “ _Seriously._ It’s nothing, Emma.”

Mary Margaret had been Emma’s best friend for five years, and by this point, Emma was well aware that Mary Margaret wasn’t going to open up when she used that tone. With one last worried frown aimed at her friend, she settled back down into her Charms study.

-

It hit her when she was getting ready for bed.

Ruby getting sick occasionally? More like once a month. And – she glanced out the window – yeah, it’s full moon.

Oh. _Oh._

Of course.

There was nothing she can do about it at the moment. Ruby definitely wasn’t in the hospital wing, and even if Emma knew where she was, facing off against a full-grown werewolf just to get a confirmation hardly sounded like a reasonable plan.

-

Ruby was, however, in the hospital wing the next day, as she slept off the effects of the change. It was a Sunday morning, and everyone else was either sleeping in or at breakfast. There wasn’t anyone to miss Emma as she settled in beside Ruby with a wizarding novel that had been so popular an edited version had apparently been released to muggle audiences.

It was getting to the point when ‘breakfast’ became ‘brunch’ when Ruby woke. Emma didn’t even notice until Ruby let out a panicked, strangled-sounding, “ _Emma?”_

“I brought you chocolate,” Emma offered, holding out the remainder of the Honeydukes chocolate she’d bought last Hogsmeade weekend. “I just. I wanted to ask you a question.”

Ruby took the chocolate and warily asked, “What?”

“Are you a werewolf?” So maybe it wasn’t the most tactful way of asking, but Emma preferred directness to politeness.

Ruby nodded slowly, snapping a piece of chocolate off the block without meeting Emma’s eyes. “Are you going to tell anyone?”

“No.” Emma paused as Ruby looked up at her for a moment before staring back down at the chocolate. “I’ve seen how the Wizarding World treats werewolves. I don’t want that to happen to you.” Emma bit her lip. “Does Mary Margaret know?”

“Yeah,” Ruby said. “She saw me with the Wolfsbane potion one night. You know how great she is at potions. I would have been surprised if she _didn’t_ realise after that.”

“I can help you keep it secret, if you want.” Ruby finally looked up from the chocolate at Emma’s words. “Because Mary Margaret’s excuse about you getting sick sometimes actually helped me to work it out. I could tell people you’d snuck out to Hogsmeade, or something.”

“Thank you,” whispered Ruby.

Emma shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

-

She was sitting alone by the lake when Graham found her. He sat down next to her, staring out over the lake instead of looking at her.

“Ruby told me that you worked it out,” he said simply.

Emma looked over at him, eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t see you at the hospital wing yesterday.”

“I’m not a werewolf.” He rubbed the back of his neck, adding, “I’m Ruby’s cousin. My parents died a few years ago. Ruby, her mother and her grandmother were already turned by the time I went to live with them.”

“They let you? I thought the prejudice would have been too strong.”

“I don’t think they would have if Wolfsbane hadn’t been invented,” he said. “I don’t stay there on full moons, anyway, just in case something goes wrong.”

“Does David know about Ruby, too?” she asked. It was the only reason she could think of for Graham’s easy acceptance of the other Hufflepuff.

But Graham shook his head. “No, he doesn’t know. But I don’t think he’d care if he did. David doesn’t have a cruel bone in his body.”

Emma nodded, absent-mindedly picking at the grass in front of her. Neither spoke for several moments, until Emma had to ask, “Is that why you don’t trust people? Because you’re worried about others finding out about your family?”

He nodded, and his smile was almost bitter. “And Ruby makes friends with ease, even though she’s the one in real danger. It’s strange.”

“I get it,” whispered Emma. It reminded her of Mary Margaret, who always seemed more bothered by people calling Emma “ _Mudblood_ ” than Emma herself. And Graham was a Hufflepuff, his defining trait loyalty, so she could only imagine how much more protective Graham was.

They sat in silence, staring out over the Great Lake. With their backs to the castle, they were almost alone in the world.

-

It was from then on that Graham became, unquestionably, one of Emma’s closest friends. He was present for every shout of laughter and every quiet moment, worming his way into her life until she wasn’t sure what it had been life before him. It had been over five years since she had made her first friend on the Hogwarts Express, but the process still took her breath away.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend, the first of their Sixth Year, and Emma was crowded around a table in the Three Broomsticks with Mary Margaret, David, Ruby and Graham. They were close to the fireplace, and her hands were wrapped around a hot chocolate with cinnamon. It was a concoction Mary Margaret had introduced her to on their first trip to the kitchens. Somehow it had spread across their little group, although all but Emma and David had butter beer at the moment.

Emma took another sip as Ruby continued her story about her last Divination lesson. David was laughing, while Mary Margaret was shaking her head.

“I’ll never get why you took Divination,” said Mary Margaret. “It’s nonsense. You either have the Sight or you don’t.”

Ruby shrugged. “I was hopeful at the time, and I didn’t think I could catch up all of the Third Year work once I realized.”

It was at that moment a scream erupted from outside. The noise of the pub ceased, and Emma immediately grabbed her wand.

They met Belle by the door, along with some other Hogwarts students. “Some of us need to stay in here and make sure the younger students are safe,” Belle was saying as they reached her.

“Do you think it’s -?” Graham started, not needing to finish because Belle was already nodding.

“Ruby, Mary Margaret, you’re the weakest out of us at DADA,” said David. They both nodded, and Mary Margaret swung to glare at Alice and Cyrus, who had also appeared at the door.

“You’re Fifth Years,” said Mary Margaret firmly. “You’re not going out.”

Alice glowered, but Cyrus nodded and silenced Alice’s protestations before they could begin.

Belle took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”

“Have to be,” muttered Emma. Belle pushed the door open, and they were all out the door as quickly as possible, slamming it shut behind them.

“Colloportus,” Belle said clearly, and the lock on the door slid shut. “Be careful,” she said to the others, just as Emma had to conjure a Shield Charm.

Graham and Emma quickly found themselves dueling a masked woman, the lowered hood revealing only the black hair flowing down her back. Emma was launching off spell after spell at her at a rapid speed: “ _Impedimenta! Stupefy! Expelliarmus!_ ” Beside her, Graham was doing similarly. But through a proficient use of Shield Charms, the Death Eater was avoiding all attacks. Some she simply dodged, such as when Emma sent off a “ _Reducto!_ ” and it had ended up obliterating a directional sign.

“Is that the best you can do?” she taunted, letting off her own stream of hexes and curses, verbally and non-verbally. They were doing reasonably well at shielding themselves from or reflecting the spells, until –

“ _Crucio._ ”

And Graham fell, screaming.

“ _Graham_ ,” whispered Emma. She focused on the witch in front of her, unleashing a torrent of curses. “Stupefy! Avis oppungno! _Sectumsempra!”_ The final spell was the only one that made contact, but not as effectively as she might have hoped, creating only a deep cut in the woman’s wand arm. Emma began to cast stunners at her repeatedly, aware she would no longer be able to protect herself as totally, and at last, she fell.

But it was Graham’s body on the ground she cared for, and after casting a quick Shield Charm around them, she knelt to check on him. He was still breathing, which she expected – it was rare the Cruciatus Curse caused death. But he was unconscious, and uncertain of what to do, she aimed a quick, “Alohomora,” at the door of the Three Broomsticks and levitated him inside.

“Merlin,” breathed Mary Margaret as she entered.

“What happened?” demanded Ruby, chasing some Fourth Years off the closest bench seat available.

“Cruciatus,” Emma said shortly. “I don’t know who. She had a mask on, and I didn’t recognize what I could see of her.”

Mary Margaret nodded. “My mother’s a Healer,” she said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Emma looked at Graham, then back to the door. She wanted to stay, and help look after Graham – but people needed her.

“Go,” said Ruby softly, and she went.

-

Emma and David had both emerged the battle unscathed, but when Graham was moved back to Hogwarts, he was still unconscious. They’d decided to put shifts on staying at the hospital wing for when he awoke, and it was Emma’s turn now, in the final hours before curfew.

She was reading over her DADA notes when he woke, a short little gasp alerting her to the development.

“Emma?” he said, but it was more of a croak than a word.

“Graham!” She stared at him for a moment, running her eyes up and down him as if she would be able to see some visible mark of his ailment.  She stopped herself, sliding a little closer to his bed. “How are you?”

“Sore,” was the response, his lips quirking upwards slightly.

“Madame Astrid said there wasn’t much we can do,” explained Emma. “Dreamless Sleep potion is how they usually deal with this, and you’ve been passed out for the past several hours, which is almost the same thing.” He inclined his head in understanding, and the very action looked painful. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It isn’t your fault.” His voice was firm. “It wasn’t. It was that Death Eater, and if there’s anyone else responsible for it, that’s Cora. _None of it_ is on you.”

“What if you’d _died_ , Graham?” Emma demanded. “Merlin, you could have! If she’d only used a different Unforgiveable - ” She wiped away the tears stinging at her eyes roughly.

“Emma,” he whispered.

“You could have _died,_ ” she said, voice deathly quiet. He extended his arms, and she leant into his embrace as agreeably as she’d ever done anything, desperately trying to keep herself from sobbing.

They laid there in silence, Emma trying to match her uneven breathing to his even, deep breaths. It was the only thing that was keeping her calm, that and the warmth of his body, a confirmation that he was real and still breathing.

“Hey, Emma,” he whispered eventually.

“What?” she breathed in response.

“Do you want to hear a joke?”

Graham’s jokes were almost uniformly awful, but he’d literally been tortured today, so she was willing to give him a free pass. “Shoot.”

“Death eater attacks: probably great for publicity, terrible for local signage.” He paused, then added: “You know, because you blew up that sign -” And maybe it wasn’t her kind of joke, but Emma started laughing, because Merlin knew she needed to find some kind of joy in that day. “I knew I’d get you with one of my jokes eventually,” he said, voice absolutely delighted.

“Yeah. You got me.”

-

Mary Margaret and David were off in their own little world ( _again_ ), bantering in a way that verged on flirting. Ruby and Emma, as a result, sat opposite to them and instead discussed which spell was the best answer to a particular DADA question. The door slid open, and Ruby and Emma both looked up to see Graham.

“Where have you been?” asked Ruby as Emma slid over to allow Graham room, since Mary Margaret and David have barely glanced up since they started talking, so she doubted they’d notice Graham’s arrival enough to think to make room for him.

“Just running a bit late,” he replied, sitting down next to Emma.

“How do you think you did on NEWTs?” she asked. He made a ‘ _so-so_ ’ gesture with his hands.

“Modesty,” muttered Ruby in disgust. She turned to Emma. “He’ll have done fine, because he always goes well, and he’s been studying like mad lately so he can get into the Aurors.”

“ _Ruby,_ ” he complained, half-heartedly.

She only shrugged unrepentantly. “It’s true.”

“I want to get into Aurors, as well,” interrupted Emma, before she was alone amidst two lots of banter. “I don’t – I don’t want ever to be helpless in a Death Eater attack.” Ruby was nodding, slowly – she hadn’t yet decided what she wanted to do now that Hogwarts was over, but Emma knew that becoming an Auror was one of Ruby’s options.

It had been over a year since the attack on Hogsmeade. Another had taken place since, although not while Hogwarts students were present. Attacks seemed to becoming more common across the Wizarding World, Cora growing ever more powerful as more Purebloods flocked to her cause. It was madness, and Emma needed to do something, anything, to end it.

-

That opportunity did not come from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Instead, it came from their former Headmistress.

Emma had received a note asking her to attend a meeting at Hogwarts only days after graduating, as had Mary Margaret, David, Ruby and Graham. And now they were sitting across from her, squished all together. David was holding Mary Margaret’s hand to keep her from tapping her leg nervously, but the Headmistress looked on calmly, hands wrapped in blue robes resting on her desk.

“I have offered this opportunity to a few graduating students each year for the past few years,” she said clearly. “You are under no obligation to accept my offer, and you are free to go without shame if you wish to do so.”

“What is the offer?” asked Mary Margaret, gripping David’s hand a little tighter.

“You may have noticed that the Aurors have been struggling to fight the Death Eaters effectively,” said the Headmistress. “I believe they are being hampered by Death Eaters or those who are sympathetic to their cause in the DMLE. Unfortunately, the Wizarding World cannot wait for the Ministry to root out traitors in their ranks.” She paused, and Emma leaned forwards, determined not to miss a word. “I created an organisation that could fight the Death Eaters without being hindered by the Blood Purists.

“I would like you to join the Order of the Phoenix.”


End file.
